UNION, N.J. (9/17/14) – After going over 85 scoreless minutes, the Kean University men's soccer team scored two goals in less than 10 to tie and then surpass Haverford College for a 2-1 overtime victory on Wednesday. The Cougars rise to 4-2-1 under new head coach Rob Irvine, while Haverford drops to 3-2.
Kean had numerous opportunities in the first half but could not find the final touch. Haverford goaltender Chris Gibson made a great stop on shot by Kevin Olaya only three minutes into the contest, and had another great save on Kelvin Flores with 25 minutes to go in the half.
Later on, Robert Barrera got off two good shots back-to-back with 10 minutes remaining before the break, but Gibson got them both.
It was Haverford defender Gabe Oppler who saved the best chance of the first half, however. After a Haverford miscommunication, the Cougars had the ball deep in behind the goaltender. But Oppler came flying in from the weak side to make the save and keep the Cougars scoreless in the first.
With the final seconds in the half ticking down, Tejan Walcott and John Halifax were on the counterattack for the Fords. Walcott's initial hard shot was saved, but the rebound came to Halifax who put it in from nearly 20 yards out for the game's first score. The Fords took a 1-0 lead at the break despite trailing 16-4 in the shot column.
Play continued to be deep in the Haverford zone for most of the second half. The shots were even more disparate, with the Cougars leading 17-2 in the second period. But with five minutes to go in the game, they still had nothing to show for it.
Kean was buzzing around the goal and created many good scoring chances on loose balls and breakaways. Finally, one paid off. Steven Zamudio's pass beat most of the Fords' defensive line. Sevag Kherlopian (pictured left) controlled it while streaking down the left side, deftly slid the ball past the keeper and scored the game-tying goal as the Kean bench and fans exploded with a mixture of relief and celebration.
After a cautious first few minutes of overtime, Zamudio had the ball far outside the Haverford box. Without a better option, the sophomore sent a hard volley at the goal. The goalkeeper got his hands on it, but after corralling it for a moment the ball slipped through his grasp and trickled over the goalline for the sudden death-game winner. Kean players mobbed Zamudio, the hero of the night.
The Cougars outshot Haverford 35-6 in the game, but the teams were tied 3-3 in corner kicks. Brad Watkins made three saves on the way to his first win of the season.
Kean will now begin NJAC play at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Rowan University.
